REVIEW:

As the days of summer grow fewer, so too
do the opportunities to enjoy theater under the stars at Danbury's
outdoor Musicals at Richter. The season finale, which only runs through
next weekend, is "Oklahoma!" the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic from
1943, and the Richter production is happily first rate in all
departments.Richter may have found in director Don
Birely a remedy for some of the energetic, yet hastily put together and
thus sometimes less than sharp productions of the past. Birely directed
"Fiddler on the Roof," the rousing season opener, and with this
production of "Oklahoma!" demonstrates again what diligent casting and a
strong directorial hand can accomplish.This is a well-sung, well-acted
production and one which needs no generous caveats to defend it on the
grounds that outdoor theater is not expected to match rainproof
productions."Oklahoma!" is an evergreen musical just
waiting for a cast that can breathe new and believable life into its
characters -- and with a score with enough hit parade songs to warrant a
juke box of its own, it just needs a professional push to dust off what
few signs of aging it might be victim to.Birely has cast attractive performers, vocally and physically, in the principal roles.
Lucy Horton and Matt Grills play the
young lovers, Laurey and Curley; Bridget Krompinger is the fickle Ado
Annie; Nicholas Kier and Damian Long are her addled swains and Beth Bria
is Laurey's Aunt Eller. For the dark role of Jud, the director
has selected strong singer Bryan Prywes and what an apt decision it was
to have this character played by someone who looks the age of Laurey and
Curley, with whom he is fatefully entwined. Too often Jud comes off as
an embittered older man rather than a young one -- alienated and lonely
in a country where companionship was probably as scarce as rain for the
crops.While many in the audience will know most
of the songs, what a joy it must be for newcomers to the show to
discover the velvety collaboration between Rodgers and Hammerstein. "Oh,
What a Beautiful Mornin!""People Will Say We're in Love" and "The
Surrey With the Fringe on the Top" are among favorites the show spawned,
but listen anew to the clever lyrics and musical counterpoint in
"Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City,""Many a New Day" and the mock
requiem, "Pore Jud is Daid."There's a large cast and Birely and
choreographer Matt Farina keep them on the move, dancing and prancing to
steps that give an affectionate nod to the original choreographer,
Agnes de Mille.Aurora Greaves of the Warner Theatre in
Torrington has supervised the Sunday-go-to-meeting costumes, which
naturally feature plenty of gingham and prints for the ladies and chaps
and jeans for the cowboys and the farmers.Birely designed the set as he did for
"Fiddler" and once again note should be made of the work of the scenic
painter, in this case Rick Doyle, whose panoramic visions are bright and
beautiful.Jane Ryan was the musical director and she kept the singers and the orchestra in perfect alignment.On the surface, "Oklahoma!" is about
optimism and unity -- the title song and the peace making "The Farmer
and the Cowman (Should Be Friends)" demonstrate emotions in high demand
in the war years of the mid 1940s when the show was written.It still has the power to give you a
sense of the "Sooner" get up and go spirit, and the music will get your
toes to tapping and your hands to clapping. Take the family, it's a
great introduction to musical theater and a not unwelcome dose of
American pride."Oklahoma!" plays through Aug. 18 at
Musicals at Richter, Richter Arts Center, 100 Aunt Hack Road, next to
the Richter Golf Course, Danbury. Performances are Thursdays through
Sundays at 8:30 p.m. Grounds open at 7:15 for picnicking. There is a
concession stand on the site and lawn chairs may be rented with advance
reservations.Tickets are $20, $15 for seniors and $12
for students and children. Call the box office at (203) 748-6873. For
more information visit the theater's Web site, www.musicalsatrichter.org.

Pictured clockwise
from left: Bryan Prywes as Jud; Damian Long as Ali Hakim with
Bridget Krompinger as Ado Annie; and the Company in "The Farmer and the
Cowman." Inset above right: Bridget Krompinger as Ado Annie with
Nicholas Kier as Will Parker.Production photos by Kerry Long PhotographyREVIEW: OKLAHOMA! Joanne Rochman, Hometown Newspapers - August 9,2007They say the first
number in a musical determines the way the show will go. Well, wait
until you hear Matthew Grills sing "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" while
he strolls down a grassy aisle and makes his way through the audience to
the outdoor Richter stage. He sets the pace for the whole show, and
this production of "Oklahoma" never falters.An old chestnut of a
musical, this work is new again with a young, enthusiastic and talented
cast. Lucy Horton hits the high notes crisply and cleanly, and she
presents a sweet country girl with as much spunk as morals.Of course, Bridget
Krompinger is a hoot as Ado Annie, the gal who just can't say "no."
She's at her best when her crinolines are ruffled in the air as she's
dancing with Nicholas Kier, a high-kicking, quick-footed Will Parker.Damien Long as Ali
Hakim, a traveling salesman who can't leave the women alone, cracks up
the audience every time he finds himself looking down the barrel of a
shotgun.Beth Bria, a charmer in her own right, plays Aunt Eller with equal amounts of gusto and charm.While the entire cast
captivates the audience with indefatigable energy and thrilling talents,
it is Bryan Prywes who will steal your heart. His character, Jud Fry,
is supposed to be dark, and Prywes portrays him as that, but he gives
"Pore Ol' Jud" a heart. He's not just a cardboard figure. The audience
cares about this character. Kudos to Prywes for taking on such a heavy
role with such passion and professionalism. He delivers one of the most
memorable performances of the evening.Choreographed by Matthew
Farina, the dancing is joyous. Girls in pastel, candy-colored dresses
with plenty of ruffles, ribbons and bows kick up their pretty heels and
are twirled about by cowboys who know a thing or two about dance.Directed superbly by
Donald E. Birely, with musical direction by Jane Ryan, this is a big
winner for Richter's final production of the season. If you can't resist
a good, old-fashioned, romantic musical with songs like "The Surrey
With the Fringe on the Top," "People Will Say We're In Love," and
"Oklahoma," then you better contact the Richter box office: (203)
748-6873.The show runs through Aug. 18.

Song List

Overture
Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' - Curly
The Surrey With the Fringe On Top - Curly

About:

Oklahoma! (1943)
was the first musical play written by composer Richard Rodgers and
lyricist/librettist Oscar Hammerstein II (see Rodgers and Hammerstein).
Some argue that it marked a revolution in musical drama: while it was
hardly the first time a play with music told a story of emotional depth
and psychological complexity, Oklahoma! implemented a number of new
storytelling techniques, including focusing on emotional empathy;
dealing with characters and situations far removed from the audience by
time and geography; dealing with American historical and social
materials; and its use of dance to convey plot and character rather than
mere diversion for the audience. Story:Oklahoma!,
which is based on Lynn Riggs's 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs, is set
in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, and tells
the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance with farmer girl Laurey
Williams. Their love is challenged by Laurey's threatening farmhand,
Jud Fry, and much of the play follows the contest between Curly and Jud
for Laurey's affections. A comic subplot follows Laurey's friend, Ado
Annie Carnes and her on-again/off-again relationship with cowboy Will
Parker.

Stage play:The original production of Oklahoma! opened on March
31, 1943 at the St. James Theatre in New York, was directed by Rouben
Mamoulian, and starred Betty Garde, Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts, Celeste
Holm, Joan McCracken, and Howard Da Silva. The production was
choreographed by Agnes de Mille, who provided one of the show's most
notable and enduring features: a 15-minute first-act ballet finale
(often referred to as a dream ballet) arising from Laurey's inability to
make up her mind between Jud and Curly. The original production ran for
a then unprecedented 2,212 performances and was closed on May 29, 1948.
There have been many revivals of Oklahoma! since, including national
tours.Movie:The play was adapted into an Academy Award–winning
musical film in 1955, starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones (in her film
debut), Rod Steiger, Gloria Grahame and Eddie Albert. This film was
shot with two sets of cameras, in the new 70 mm widescreen process of
Todd-AO and again in the more established Cinemascope 35 mm widescreen
process for the majority of theatres lacking 70 mm equipment. Rodgers
and Hammerstein personally oversaw the film themselves to prevent the
studio from making the changes that were then typical of stage-to-film
musical adaptations—such as putting in new songs by different composers.
(They also maintained artistic control over the film versions of
several of their other stage
musicals). The film Oklahoma! followed the original
stage version extremely closely, more so than any other Rodgers and
Hammerstein stage-to-film adaptation. Robert Russell Bennett expanded
his Broadway orchestrations, Jay Blackton conducted, and Agnes de Mille
again choreographed. The film omitted very little from the stage
production, and thus ran two-and-a-half hours, much longer than most
other screen musicals of the time. The movie of Oklahoma! revived an early talkie trend which had not lasted long—filming stage
musicals virtually complete, and showing them as road show attractions
(two performances a day, usually with an intermission, like stage
productions). Although the film versions of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel and
The King and I did not have intermissions and cut more from the stage
originals than did the film version of Oklahoma!, they also ran over two
hours, followed the stage originals quite closely and retained most of
their songs. South Pacific (filmed in 1958), as well as most
other stage-to-film musical adaptations that came after it, did have an
intermission and was also quite long, as was The Sound of Music. The trend of "road show" stage-to-film musicals lasted into the early 1970's, the last of them being the film versions of Fiddler on the Roof and Man of La Mancha.